Chapter 11: On Yaoyue Peak
Spanning tens of thousands of miles across the Taiyin Divine Mountain lies a place with a rather unique status: Yaoyue Peak.
Ten thousand years ago, when Ancestor Changxi first set foot in East Tianzhou, she landed upon this very peak.
That night, Yaoyue Peak was surrounded by a riot of blossoms and lush, shaded trees, with a bright moon hanging in a cloudless sky.
Deeply moved, the Ancestor had a stone hewn into a monument, using her finger as a brush to write a poem that would endure through the ages.
*A pot of wine among the flowers,*
*I drink alone, no companion near.*
*I raise my cup to invite the bright moon,*
*And with my shadow, we make three.*
For ten thousand years, countless talented scholars and brilliant beauties had racked their brains and wrun their guts dry, yet none could complete the poem.
Later generations therefore named this peak Yaoyue Peak.
After parking the covered boat steadily, Cui Dongli leaped off with eager anticipation. Disregarding even his Dharma Treasure, he rushed toward the Ancestor's relic.
Fang Baiyu and Jiang Runyue followed closely behind him off the boat. They watched as the covered boat rapidly shrank a hundredfold, transforming into a grayish-brown stream of light that instantly flew back into Cui Dongli's sleeve.
When Fang Baiyu and Jiang Runyue arrived, the sight before them left both of them dumbfounded.
Cui Dongli, usually so refined and graceful, was currently standing before the four lines of poetry, completely distraught and bathed in tears.
"Huh?"
Fang Baiyu's jaw dropped in astonishment. Having known Cui Dongli for over three hundred years, she had never seen him lose his composure like this; it completely overturned her impression of him.
Standing beside her, Jiang Runyue looked at the immensely familiar verses, a tumult of emotions washing over her in an instant.
She had always been full of doubts about the origins of Ancestor Changxi, but at this moment, they were completely resolved.
*“As expected, the Ancestor is a transmigrator just like me! We’re both fellow townsfolk from Earth!”*
Jiang Runyue muttered inwardly, a spark of excitement flashing in her eyes.
*“Since Ancestor Changxi, a fellow countrywoman, could accomplish such earth-shattering feats, why can't I stand atop the highest heavens just like her, looking down upon all living beings, enjoying eternal youth and ascending through the mists?”*
At this thought, Jiang Runyue's mind grew even more active.
Before the relic, Cui Dongli raised his sleeve to gently wipe his cheek, revealing a bitter smile as he said, "Forgive me, Cui has made a fool of himself!"
There was a hint of apology in his voice, but even more of an unmaskable sense of loss.
Fang Baiyu looked at Cui Dongli and frowned slightly, as if wanting to say something, but forcibly held it back.
Curious, Jiang Runyue stepped forward. Her gaze fell upon Cui Dongli, and with a rather bizarre expression, she asked, "Senior Brother Yuchan, why are you... why are you... so beside yourself?"
Not knowing how to phrase her doubts, she could only ask in this vague manner.
"Haha, Cui was merely... merely... moved by the profound loneliness in the Ancestor's poetry as I paid my respects!"
Cui Dongli smiled bitterly, explaining the reason for his loss of composure.
Hearing this, Jiang Runyue blinked and turned to look at Senior Sister Fang Baiyu, who simply shook her head gently.
"Hehe~"
With a smile that wasn't quite a smile, Fang Baiyu glanced at a certain someone, then took Jiang Runyue by the hand and walked toward the distant buildings.
Seeing this, Cui Dongli was not annoyed. He straightened his robes and quickly followed after them.
As a sacred ground of the Taiyin Sect, Yaoyue Peak was not normally open to ordinary disciples.
Even inner disciples of the Taiyin Sect who wished to pay homage to the Ancestor's remains needed to submit an application to the Law Enforcement Hall and receive approval before they could visit.
The trio, dispatched by the Master of the Taiyin Sect, completed the handover with the Law Enforcement Hall cultivators stationed there and officially moved into the solemn and dignified Yaoyue Palace.
Unlike Cui Dongli and Fang Baiyu, who had many friends, Jiang Runyue had arrived in the Tianyun Realm via Ascension and knew no one within the Taiyin Divine Mountain.
Therefore, she declined the invitations of her senior sister and brother, choosing to remain alone in the palace to read and cultivate.
Time flew by, and over half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
On this day, as usual, Jiang Runyue was practicing her spear techniques in the plaza before Yaoyue Palace.
The nine-foot-long, uniquely shaped Jingshen Spear in her hands moved with the rapid ferocity of a true dragon, its majestic momentum sweeping across the entire plaza.
With every move and stance came a clear, soaring dragon roar that echoed throughout Yaoyue Peak.
"Riding the Six Dragons!"
"Hidden Dragon, Do Not Use!"
"Dragon Seen in the Fields!"
"Flying Dragon in the Sky!"
"Arrogant Dragon Will Repent!"
Carried away by the momentum, Jiang Runyue and her spear became as one, transforming into a ferocious divine dragon that summoned winds and rain, commanded thunder and lightning, and bristled with scales and a monstrously murderous aura.
"Wild Geese Landing on the Shore!"
"Favorable to Cross the Great River!"
"Shocking a Hundred Miles!"
"Or Leaping into the Abyss!"
"Dragons Fighting in the Wild!"
The Jingshen Spear, its shaft like a dragon, seemed to come alive at that moment. The four tightly clenched dragon claws slowly unfurled.
Atop the ferocious dragon head at the tip of the spear, the previously tightly shut eyes opened a sliver.
"Who's there? Show yourself!"
With a sharp shout, Jiang Runyue's frantically dancing form instantly froze into absolute stillness. The spear blade radiated a blinding, frosty gleam as it pointed far toward a sturdy, rugged, towering ancient tree.
Her momentum was condensed yet unreleased, firmly locking onto the tree.
"I'm coming out right now, right now!"
A crisp, pleasant voice rang out, as melodious as the song of a lark. Following that, a slender, graceful figure emerged from behind the big tree.
The girl was not very tall, but her figure was fine, dressed in a long purple skirt that covered her well-proportioned curves.
"Which peak's disciple are you? Why were you hiding sneakily behind that tree peeking? Do you not know that Yaoyue Peak is a forbidden ground of our sect?"
Jiang Runyue asked coldly.
The girl looked young, around twenty-three or twenty-four, with the cultivation of the Golden Core (early) stage—a quite respectable level of strength.
"Meng Zisu of Zivi Peak pays respects to the Martial Aunt!"
The girl offered a sheepish smile and bowed respectfully to Jiang Runyue.
"Zivi Peak? Could you be Senior Sister Hua Ziwei's disciple?" Jiang Runyue was not very familiar with the various peaks of the Taiyin Divine Mountain, and much of her information came from Cui Dongli and Fang Baiyu.
"Yes, Martial Aunt! Do you know my master?"
Meng Zisu had a pair of large, bright black eyes, and a trace of anticipation surfaced on her oval face.
"I don't know her, but my Senior Sister Fang Baiyu went to Zivi Peak to visit your master a few days ago. I suppose their relationship must be quite good!" Jiang Runyue replied in a flat tone.
Hearing this, Meng Zisu's eyes instantly lit up. "Ah, Fairy Chanjuan is your senior sister? My master is close friends with her; the two of them used to travel together often, and they get along so well!"
Seeing that a connection had been established, Meng Zisu grew much bolder. Her demeanor was no longer as reserved as before, becoming noticeably natural and fluid.
However, the next moment, she froze completely.
A huge green peacock came flapping its magnificent wings, flying rapidly toward Yaoyue Peak.
Sitting upon the peacock's broad back were two figures, one purple and one white, who were currently gazing with great curiosity at the two people standing in the plaza below.
"Junior Sister Hua, isn't that little Zisu? Why has she suddenly run off to Yaoyue Peak?"
Fang Baiyu asked, full of doubt.
The purple-robed beauty beside her said helplessly, "This girl practically worships the Ancestor. Every once in a while, she comes to Yaoyue Peak to study the ancient poem left behind by the Ancestor herself!"
"Haha, you don't suppose she thinks those four lines of poetry contain the Ancestor's secret inheritance arts, do you?"
Hua Ziwei shrugged and said helplessly, "Who knows? But I guess not. After all, these four poems have been here for ten thousand years; if there were any inheritance, someone would have discovered it long ago!"